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Mar. 21st, 2003 07:32 amI don't often talk about war, seeing as I'm surrounded by only three people on a semi-weekly basis, and two of those three cheer and actively support the war. The third person and I will discuss it from time to time, but it's a rare moment when we can actually state our opinions without harrassment for it by the other two (and when one isn't with us, the other is). And when I say harrassment, I mean actual harrassment. We don't get to finish our statements and I can't recall ever being able to fully explain my reasonings behind it without being told "You don't know anything. Do more research and you'll change your mind. This war is right." And that irritates me. And I get irritated by the two of them constantly sending me emails and having arguments with me over what is right and what is wrong. And I absolutely HATE being told that I, of all people, should be the biggest supporter for this war on principle, since I'm Jewish and the Iraqi government kills Jews for fun. That really pisses me off. I'm Jewish, yes. I do not want Jews around the world being killed. It's not right, but I'm not a violent person and war is not the answer to everything. Palestinians are killing Jews because they believe we invaded their homeland, but the US isn't waging a war against them are we? It's rude and arrogant, and actually a view that caused a senator to resign his position for stating it, to think that just because I am Jewish I should be the biggest supporter of this war.
My opinion, the war is neither right nor wrong. Did I want it to happen? No. But it happened. And obviously it's been in the planning stages for many months, if not years... so obviously Bush was going to have this war at some point in time and damn what the majority of his people wanted. I find it very hard to believe the statistics that 2/3rd's of US citizens support this war. For one, oddly, I don't remember ever being asked or polled. So that's at least one US citizen they missed.
Back to my original point. I did not want this war to happen. But now it's happened and while I do not like it, I can't stop it, and I will support the US and British troops over there stationed in Iraq, Kuwait, and on the seas fighting for our so-called freedom. I will support them and not turn my backs on them. They are just doing their jobs and losing their lives for a war that nobody is clear of the real reason we are having it. Am I educated about the war? As much as any average American citizen can be. I watch the news. I tune in to the nightly updates. I read articles in the newspaper and online. I educate myself about the history of Iraq and the entire Middle East, which is more than I can say for SOME people I know.
Do I support this war? No. Do I support our troops? Yes. Do I think Saddam should not be in power? Yes. Do I think war was the only way to overthrow that government? Yes. Do I think we should have started this war? No. We were not asked to overthrow the government. We were not asked for help by the Iraqi people. And I know a great many of them who might have been ok with the US before will now hate us. Not for giving them a new government, not for rebuilding a shattered social system, but for starting war, for killing innocent Iraqi citizens, and for simply butting in where it has been made abundantly clear we were not wanted. Do I think this war will stop terrorism against the United States? No. I think it will make us not only more open, but a target to groups we don't even know about, groups that hadn't previously targeted us. Do I think this is a war waged because of terrorism on the United States? No. There is nothing to support the idea that Iraq is linked with Al Quada. Intelligence reports are actually still reporting that Osama Bin Laden is hiding out in the mountains of Palestine... so if this is a war on terrorism, on the terrorists that targeted us, wouldn't it make sense to wage war against Palestine? Do I think this is a war to control oil? Possibly. The problem is, nobody knows. We get conflicting reports as to the reasons for this war. I've also been told this is a war because Saddam had nuclear weapons and threatened to use them against us. Well, so does North Korea. They have more weapons than Iraq did, and they have threatened to use them more than Iraq did... plus North Korea could easily take out major parts of the US with just one missile, as they are well within striking range. We know the government of North Korea will follow up on their threats. So if this is a war against nuclear threats to the US, why aren't we waging war against North Korea instead, or even along with Iraq? Perhaps I'd feel better about it if I knew what we were fighting for. If I could get a clear and definate answer to the question of what this war is for... and I don't like the idea that Bush planted himself, the idea that he's fighting this war because Saddam targeted his father during the first Gulf War.
War is never all right nor all wrong. It's right for fixing things that need to be fixed, it's wrong because people die. I understand that we can't all just sit around and make world peace happen by talking, because I realize there are a great many people out there who seek control and power, and world peace does not give them control or power. They will always cause problems. Innocent people will always die for one persons holy war, one person's cause, one person's desires. It's not right, but it's not going to change anytime soon.
So overall, my stance is this. I do not agree with the war. I do not like war. I will support the troops over there fighting. I do not think it will stop terrorism. I do not think it will make the esteem of the US any higher in the middle east nations. I do not support the war. I support the men and women dying for it.
My opinion, the war is neither right nor wrong. Did I want it to happen? No. But it happened. And obviously it's been in the planning stages for many months, if not years... so obviously Bush was going to have this war at some point in time and damn what the majority of his people wanted. I find it very hard to believe the statistics that 2/3rd's of US citizens support this war. For one, oddly, I don't remember ever being asked or polled. So that's at least one US citizen they missed.
Back to my original point. I did not want this war to happen. But now it's happened and while I do not like it, I can't stop it, and I will support the US and British troops over there stationed in Iraq, Kuwait, and on the seas fighting for our so-called freedom. I will support them and not turn my backs on them. They are just doing their jobs and losing their lives for a war that nobody is clear of the real reason we are having it. Am I educated about the war? As much as any average American citizen can be. I watch the news. I tune in to the nightly updates. I read articles in the newspaper and online. I educate myself about the history of Iraq and the entire Middle East, which is more than I can say for SOME people I know.
Do I support this war? No. Do I support our troops? Yes. Do I think Saddam should not be in power? Yes. Do I think war was the only way to overthrow that government? Yes. Do I think we should have started this war? No. We were not asked to overthrow the government. We were not asked for help by the Iraqi people. And I know a great many of them who might have been ok with the US before will now hate us. Not for giving them a new government, not for rebuilding a shattered social system, but for starting war, for killing innocent Iraqi citizens, and for simply butting in where it has been made abundantly clear we were not wanted. Do I think this war will stop terrorism against the United States? No. I think it will make us not only more open, but a target to groups we don't even know about, groups that hadn't previously targeted us. Do I think this is a war waged because of terrorism on the United States? No. There is nothing to support the idea that Iraq is linked with Al Quada. Intelligence reports are actually still reporting that Osama Bin Laden is hiding out in the mountains of Palestine... so if this is a war on terrorism, on the terrorists that targeted us, wouldn't it make sense to wage war against Palestine? Do I think this is a war to control oil? Possibly. The problem is, nobody knows. We get conflicting reports as to the reasons for this war. I've also been told this is a war because Saddam had nuclear weapons and threatened to use them against us. Well, so does North Korea. They have more weapons than Iraq did, and they have threatened to use them more than Iraq did... plus North Korea could easily take out major parts of the US with just one missile, as they are well within striking range. We know the government of North Korea will follow up on their threats. So if this is a war against nuclear threats to the US, why aren't we waging war against North Korea instead, or even along with Iraq? Perhaps I'd feel better about it if I knew what we were fighting for. If I could get a clear and definate answer to the question of what this war is for... and I don't like the idea that Bush planted himself, the idea that he's fighting this war because Saddam targeted his father during the first Gulf War.
War is never all right nor all wrong. It's right for fixing things that need to be fixed, it's wrong because people die. I understand that we can't all just sit around and make world peace happen by talking, because I realize there are a great many people out there who seek control and power, and world peace does not give them control or power. They will always cause problems. Innocent people will always die for one persons holy war, one person's cause, one person's desires. It's not right, but it's not going to change anytime soon.
So overall, my stance is this. I do not agree with the war. I do not like war. I will support the troops over there fighting. I do not think it will stop terrorism. I do not think it will make the esteem of the US any higher in the middle east nations. I do not support the war. I support the men and women dying for it.
